Dana White announces Paddy Pimblett's next fight, it's a monster bout against a UFC legend

Dana White has announced Paddy Pimblett's next fight and it's against a UFC legend on a monster card in December.

'The Baddy' has been out of action since suffering an ankle injury in his controversial win over Jared Gordon at UFC 282 last December.

He underwent surgery in March to repair ankle ligament damage.

But he's set to return to action before the year's end as UFC CEO White has confirmed the lightweight star's next assignment.

Pimblett will face Tony Ferguson at UFC 296 in Las Vegas on December 16.

Speaking in a video posted on social media, White said: "Paddy is on a six-fight win streak, five of those have come by finish, and Tony Ferguson is always exciting - the former interim champion in the lightweight division."

Ferguson, 39, is on a six-fight losing streak, having lost to the likes of Justin Gaethje, Charles Oliveria and Nate Diaz.

He had reeled off an impressive 12-fight winning streak before losing to Gaethje for the interim UFC lightweight title back in May 2020.

As for the Liverpool fighter, he made his UFC debut in September 2021 and has registered four wins since moving to the promotion, having beaten Luigi Vendramini, Rodrigo Vargas. Jordan Leavitt and Gordon.

Paddy Pimblett during his bout against Jared Gordon. Image: Getty

White also announced a huge welterweight clash between Shavkat Rakhmonov and Stephen Thompson for UFC 296.

Pimblett vs. Ferguson will join UFC flyweight title fight Alexandre Pantoja vs. Brandon Royval and UFC welterweight championship showdown Leon Edwards vs. Colby Covington on the stacked card, with White adding: "It is going to be one of the best cards of the year."

SPORTbible are on WhatsApp! We've launched a dedicated news channel to send you the latest news, features and plenty more directly on WhatsApp and all you need to do to sign up is click through to our one-way broadcast channel here HERE for 'SPORTbible News' to appear in the 'Updates' tab on your WhatsApp.

Topics: Paddy Pimblett, UFC, Dana White, Tony Ferguson

Nasir Jabbar

Nasir Jabbar is a journalist at SPORTbible. He graduated from Bath Spa University with a BA in Media Communications. He's a combat sport aficionado and has contributed to MMA websites AddictedMMA and CagePotato. Nasir has covered some of the biggest fights, while interviewing the likes of Conor McGregor, Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury and Darren Till. He's also an avid Bristol City fan.

@NasJabbar